Employer and employees’ fortunes are interlinked. An employee benefit programme that delivers holistic solutions is essential to meet the needs of employees throughout their lifetime and, in addition, has long-term benefits for employers, says Belinda Sullivan, head of corporate consulting strategy at Alexander Forbes.
Benefits continue to evolve, and have an important role to play in supporting the financial sustainability of corporate South Africa and society as a whole.
Healthcare forms an integral part of the overall well-being for employees. Employees and their families highly value access to good healthcare. They can select the most appropriate scheme option based on benefits and affordability from their employer’s range of schemes.
Employers generally provide medical aid benefits as part of the remuneration package to employees. Many employers select a preferred medical scheme for their employees, even in a total cost of employment environment. In very large employers this may include more than one medical scheme. By selecting an employer-preferred scheme, the employer can ensure that employees have access to quality and sustainable medical schemes, appropriate advice in selecting their options, and expert assistance when things do go wrong. These services are usually provided by a healthcare adviser or broker and ensure that employees’ best interests are considered.
The benefits of offering healthcare as part of your employee benefit offering include:
Private medical aid provides quicker access to treatment for employees, which limits absenteeism as a result of illness.
The employer sometimes subsidise contributions, making them more affordable and assisting the member to access private healthcare.
Waiting periods and late joiner penalties could be waived when joining as part of a compulsory group.
Members would have the choice to change their medical scheme option once a year on 1 January should their medical requirements change.
Rich benefits are provided in terms of the legislated prescribed minimum benefits (PMB).
Consulting support to the employees can assist individuals to make suitable choices at option time and provide input if a member selects an inappropriate option relative to their needs and claims history.
A yearly market review is conducted and presented to the employer to ensure that the offering is sustainable and competitive.
Employees know that they are joining schemes that have been reviewed and vetted in their best interests.
Healthcare offers support and benefits to manage lifestyle illnesses and encourages well-being through many different rewards programmes. Overall these benefits have a positive impact on employee engagement and productivity due to early interventions available through the various programmes.
Various healthcare initiatives support a productive workforce through a holistic health and wellness strategy by:
incorporating wellness programmes (employee assistance programmes)
absenteeism monitoring and management
incapacity management in the workplace, including ergonomics – while the focus has always been on an on-site workplace, employers need to consider the ergonomics at home and provide support to employees on how best to set up the home office
integrated health risk management
A vital supporting role
Group benefit arrangements play a vital role to support and offer value to many people who otherwise would not have access to any benefits. A comprehensive employee benefit programme supports and enables the holistic well-being of employees ranging from financial, personal and health. Our research with clients shows that these benefits contribute to improved engagement and productivity and the longer-term retention of employees.
Consulting advice is key to support not only the employer in providing a suitable range of options for employees, but to guide and assist employees in making appropriate decisions for themselves and their families.
ENDS
